VIC design session v104: reasoning

Sweep note — VIC resonant system, finer AWG22/0.7mH-region grid pushed to higher L.

The headline result is uncomfortable: the top five candidates are effectively degenerate at score ≈0.398, and they collapsed onto the SAME cell and tank (877V, Q≈7.3, f_r=89.99kHz). The only thing separating #1–#4 is drive duty (2/4/8/15%), which changes average input current (17→129mA) but not the physics. That tells me the scorer is being dominated by the resonant/geometry terms and is nearly indifferent to duty here — the average current is scored, not gated, so low duty barely moves the needle. Worth flagging as a model limitation, not a real optimum.

On the trade-offs: I tried to push f_r below 85kHz by adding turns/L, but the winners all sit AT 89.99kHz — the band ceiling, not below it. Higher turns (#5, 950t) actually dropped coil Q from 79→67 and slightly lowered cell voltage. So more inductance bought me nothing but wire resistance; the frequency band and Q are pulling against each other and the band wall won.

The real disappointment is the vapor-film diagnostic: every candidate lands at ~344–349 Td, regime townsend-avalanche — WELL above the 80–250 Td / 3–6 eV cold-chemistry window I'm scoring for. Nobody lit inside CGDE. High Td means the film is over-volted for cold chemistry.

Adopting #1 (lowest duty, 17mA input) as bench reference only, not as a solution.

Next session: lower the film field (larger gap or lower cell voltage) to walk Td DOWN into 80–250, and gate on duty so degenerate rows separate.